The weekend box office numbers are in, and Sony’s racing film “Gran Turismo” beat over “Barbie” in the end.
With both films hanging around $17 million on Sunday, ” Gran Turismo” and Warner Bros.’ “Barbie,” which is in its sixth weekend, appeared to be neck-and-neck. However, according to studio reports from Monday, “Gran Turismo” came out on top, earning $17.4 million from North American theaters to “Barbie’s” $15.1 million.
As is customary for fresh wide releases, “Gran Turismo’s” final sum included revenue from Thursday night pre-shows ($1.4 million). However, Sony also included $3.9 million from other sneak peeks (or “sneaks”) held elsewhere before Thursday.
As the actors strike continues, “Gran Turismo” was originally scheduled for a broad release on Aug. 11. However, Sony changed course and decided to instead use limited preview screenings and fan gatherings for two weeks before a national rollout this past weekend.
The weekend in multiplexes was unusual. On Sunday, cinemas around the United States celebrated the second annual National Cinema Day by providing $4 tickets to all films and showtimes. Due to this, it’s possible that the Sunday estimate for “Barbie” was a little bit too optimistic at $7.75 million as opposed to the movie’s real Sunday total of $5.7 million.
Despite the fact that studios in North America do not report on individual admissions, “Barbie” may have really sold more tickets this weekend. However, the daily rankings indicate that “Barbie” has the advantage on Saturday and Sunday. “Barbie” earned $5.4 million on Saturday, while “Gran Turismo” only made $4.1 million. Additionally, “Barbie” generated more money on Sunday ($5.7 million versus $4.7 million for “Gran Turismo”).
The biggest discrepancy occurred Friday, when it was estimated that “Gran Turismo” brought in $8.6 million (again, including the pre-show and preview totals) compared to “Barbie”‘s $4 million (which excludes Thursday night revenues).
It serves as a reminder that Sunday box office predictions are merely predictions and that the films competing against one another during weekend “races” don’t always follow the same set of rules.